Tavon Austin played just three snaps in the St. Louis Rams' blowout win over the Houston Texans on Sunday, a head-scratching development for the eighth-overall pick in April's draft.
Austin leads the Rams in catches (24), but he's made very little impact through six games, dropping six passes while averaging just 6.6 yards per reception. This is not the unguardable playmaker we were told of.
So what's the problem? A personnel man from another NFL team revealed his theory to USA Today: "Little receivers don't work with inaccurate quarterbacks."
A direct shot at Sam Bradford, who's completed 59.5 percent of his passes this season. In fairness, Bradford also has thrown 13 touchdowns against just three interceptions with a passer rating north of 90.
Austin stands at 5-foot-8 and 176 pounds, making him one of the smaller wide receivers in the NFL. Does his size make him a poor fit for a franchise committed to Bradford?
"You can get away with those guys if you have (Drew) Brees or (Tom) Brady," the executive said. "Of course, you can get away with a lot with those guys."
Neither Bradford nor Austin are going anywhere, so the Rams better hope this outside observation is incorrect. And while we don't profess ourselves to be personnel experts, we're not so sure we buy into the logic that Bradford can't connect with Austin because the receiver is too small.
Is Austin slight? Sure. But he's not a field mouse.
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